"A game of mighty proportions."

In the summer of 2001, we were introduced to Max Payne. This game was another 3rd person action which had some many cool features wraped into 1. Bullet-Time. This feature alowwed the player to slow down time and kill off all his enemies. This game can not be beaten without it. This game was the best action game for the year. Better then Grand Theft Auto 3, which had tons of features. All of them could not be Bullet-Time, the ultimate feature in video game history. Now, we are in 2003, where many games now try to copy off of Max Payne, including Dead to Rights, a game brought to us by Namco. With a sequel on its way for 2005, we are still blessed with Max Payne.

Graphics: Max Payne had some pretty strong graphics, which ran fast on some of the slower pcs. There is alot of slow-down to this game, though. Even when not into bullet-time. Textures were rough. Very rough. They were good, but rough. Blood in this game is very re-alistic. It shoots out of enemys in dots, then land on the ground in re-alistic pools. Sprays will pop out where the wound is, which is pretty cool. But it is just the slow-down and textures that keep this games graphics from perfect.

8/10

Story: Now, Dead to rights was after MP. It took the same story. Framed for murder and must now find out who framed him. It added more characters, and more places, but it story was a real failure. Mp was before DTD, and was the first to have the framed for murder. But story is stronger, and darker. Max's famliy was murdered by drug-taking thugs. Max killed these bastards, then went back into the force where he was put under cover. Max is suppose to meet his friend, Alex, who is murdered. Max was the last one to be seen with him, so he is the main suspect. Max is on the run to learn who framed him, only to learn that HE has to learn who wanted him framed. This story has so many twists, its gets better and better. The story is not told thourgh FMV though. It is told thourgh comics, which makes everything cooler.

10/10 *

Sound: Voice acting in this game is so good! It has emotion, and grip to stick you on it. The voice acting is so damn good! I love it! You will be listening to the voices over and over again. Max, though, is a different story. He isnt great. HE IS AWESOME! He has a dark graspy voice like Solid Snake. You can feel the way he feels by listening to his voice. Bullet shots are great. They sound so real. Explosions are probably the best I have heard. You might just buy this game to hear the voice overs and bullets!

10/10

Control: Now, out of all games, this has to have the best control, ever. Its is as easy as can be. It uses the same control scheme as Half-life. Arrow keys move you back and forth, left and right, while the mouse moves the camera so you can see where you are going. The left mouse key is for shooting, and the left is bullet time. The controls are so responsive and smooth. Just play the game and see!

10/10

Overall: Max Payne is a rollercoaster ride thourgh hell as you get shot, beaten, and tortured thourgh out this game. Max is the biggest badass around. Period. End of story.

But or Rent?: Buy. The only way you can rent this game is if you get one of the 2 console versions, with the ps2 the way to go. Just a warning though. This game is not for anyone under 17.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/08/03, Updated 05/08/03